The articles I've seen say that we are in for a drastic (Maybe 75 to 80% or more of value lost) plunge in the market.

That would mean the DOW would drop to 3000. While it is possible it could eventually go down that far, it would not happen over night. The peak to trough period for the Great Recession was from October 2007 through March of 2009.

I was just wondering what the sentiment is here about these crash-predicting articles

I think you nailed it on their desire to sell you gold (or something else).

I've not checked this stat lately but as of last year, there was no single 5yr rolling period of a balanced mix of stocks and bonds that was negative going back to the 1950s.

If you are concerned about a big market drop, I think you would be smarter to be invested and simply use trailing stop loss orders to protect you from such. There are some decent companies paying 2-4% in dividends and all that money in cash indefinately is going to lose purchasing power.

Announcements

When Life Gives You Lemons
We all have had hardships and made poor decisions. The important thing is how we respond and grow. Read the story of a Fool who started from nothing, and looks to gain everything.

Work for Fools?
Winner of the Washingtonian great places to work, and Glassdoor #1 Company to Work For 2015! Have access to all of TMF's online and email products for FREE, and be paid for your contributions to TMF! Click the link and start your Fool career.